The poll conducted by CSS shows that 40 per cent of are ‘mildly confident’ that 2024 will be better than 2023
Nearly three quarters of property professionals are confident that market conditions in 2024 will be no worse than those seen in 2023, according to a new survey.
The webinar poll conducted by Countrywide Surveying Services (CSS) shows that 40 per cent are ‘mildly confident’ that 2024 will be better than 2023.
Just 6 per cent stated that they are ‘very confident’, with 27 per cent anticipating market conditions to be ‘much the same’.
On the contrary, 24 per cent of pollees were ‘not confident’ that conditions in 2024 would be more favourable than those in 2023, with 3 per cent forecasting they will be ‘much worse’.
These views were expressed at Countrywide Surveying Services’ regular webinar series.
More than 300 people actively participated with the session, with the audience comprising of lenders, brokers, surveyors and other property professionals.
The panel included Santander UK head of business development – mortgages, Graham Sellar, Rightmove plc director of property science innovation Tim Bannister, New Build Mortgage Services group managing director Terry Higgins and Coventry Building Society’s head of intermediary relationships, Jonathan Stinton.
It was hosted by Countrywide Surveying Services director of technical, risk and compliance, John Baguley.
Another survey conducted during the webinar asked how optimistic participants are for the rest of this year.
Nearly half (48 per cent) were ‘mildly pessimistic’ and 24 per cent ‘mildly hopeful’. 21 per cent were ‘neither hopeful nor pessimistic’, 4 per cent were ‘pessimistic’ with 2 per cent ‘very hopeful’.
They were also asked what proportion of their property investor clients have sold up entirely, sold some of their properties or are looking to do so in the next one year.
The outcome showed that just below half of pollees (45 per cent) found this to be the case for less than 25 per cent of their property investor clients.
In general, 35 per cent stated this to be the case for between 25-50 per cent of their property investor clients, 18 per cent for between 50-75 per cent of their property investor clients and 2 per cent for more than 75 per cent of their property investor clients.
A final poll posed the multiple-choice question about the biggest challenges facing any new government.
Top of the list was interest rates staying above 5 per cent, with 71 per cent of pollees saying this would be the biggest challenge.
This was followed by a housing shortage (39 per cent), enabling FTBs to purchase (26 per cent), building the quantity and type of properties needed (25 per cent), making it appealing again to be a private landlord (19 per cent) and enabling empty nesters and the retired to downsize (10 per cent).
Baguley says that the results of these surveys are suggestive of present market sentiment, economic uncertainty and the effect of increasing interest rates.
Baguley added: Nevertheless, what we can draw from this highly interesting and informative conversation is just how strong the mortgage and housing markets are, in spite of witnessing massive amounts of pressure from different directions over the past 12 months.